When does technology integration make sense in the classroom, and when does it not? We will examine the instructional routines we often abuse (see PowerPoint), and propose strategies for disrupting these routines by introducing "design thinking" to teaching practice. Participants will make a physical book that illustrates this concept.

Explore project based learning using real examples of projects from two different non-traditional urban high schools. We'll discuss the characteristics of a good project and share strategies for designing projects to maximize student learning and engagement.

Direct Instruction often refers to a rigorous scripted method of teaching, systematic and boring. For the purposes of virtual environments, where the art of teaching is alive and well, direct instruction can be used as a way of modeling and explicitly showing what the students are expected to demonstrate and show, while allowing opportunities to create, question, and make sense of the material.

This conversation will focus on the relationship between the teacher/learner/community and the physical educational facility. Our Essential Question, then, is: "In a wired world unfettered by the geography of place, how do we design teaching and learning spaces when much of the teaching and learning happens outside of the physical "school" building?"

In this "stump the lawyers" session, attendees will have an opportunity to discuss issues at the intersection of educational technology and the law with four uniquely qualified "expert" panelists. Limited only by being specific to educational technology, the topics of discussion will be generated by questions from the audience.

Three teachers with backgrounds in math, reading, and ICT are working together to create interdisciplinary learning experiences for their students using Scratch, Google Apps, Wiktionary, Audacity, and SchoolTool.

Pennsylvania educators and EdTech Leaders Online are part of e-Learning for Educators, a 10-state collaboration with training for teachers to facilitate and design online PD for educators. This session will discuss: What's effective online instruction? How can it meet the needs of educators and address topics underrepresented in traditional PD?

To build scholarship in STEM, students need to be taught in environments that foster the development of a systems thinking approach to learning using engineering design as the platform. Evidence shows potential value in increasing the presence of engineering in K-12 STEM education to address the current lack of integration of science, technology, and mathematics.

Portfolios can be used to document the process of learning, and to document what has been learned. In this conversation, we will look at how these two facets of learning can be mutually supportive. Moreover, we will look at portfolios as tools for student learning and teacher professional development.

The next ten years promise to be hugely disruptive for the traditional idea of school as more and more alternative learning platforms are created and expanded. This conversation will focus not on technology but on the larger shifts that will have to occur for schools to evolve into a different role in our society. Driving the discussion will be quotes from Allan Collins and Richard Halverson's recent book Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology.

Share and discover ways of leveraging technology in your classroom to support hands-on, inquiry-based science instruction. Come learn and discuss ways to promote observation, exploration, and reflection using engaging curriculum materials and a variety of technology tools. Bring examples of student work to share!